I have been requested to write the history of my father's family, Elijah Brown McLaughlin. Lige, as he was known to his friends was married to Nancy Adeline Reid in Pisgah, Arkansas in 1878. To this union were born seven children, Rush, Ola, Ralph, Adell, Charlie, Myrtle and Me, Willie. I being the youngest of the seven children and all have passed away at this writing except myself and one sister, Myrtle, and we are climbing up in years which make it quite difficult to remember all the happenings of the early days. All that we know is what the older children or our parents have told us, and we have forgotten many incidents and facts of interest. But from what I have heard and what I can remember of my father, I cannot help but admire his courage and dignity. For his responsibility surely must have been great, and of course I must say the same for my mother. Her responsibilities were just as great, and she executed them so faithfully. She was an inspiration in many ways to my father during their adversities and rials, sorrows and joys.My parents were practically reared in the state of Arkansas and all of their children were born there, the oldest being seventeen years older than the youngest, four boys and three girls, first a boy then a girl in that order all the way through. My father was a hard worker, he thereby managed fed and clothed his family on a very small farm. I have heard many stories of those old days of log rolling and enjoyed hearing them very much. All the neighbors would gather to help until all had cleared their farms which usually consisted of about ten to twenty acres to the farm, and the neighbors also helped one another during the hog killing season. I think we of this day could get a lesson from those people and more fully "Love our neighbor as ourselves."
Even at best it was a struggle to make ends meet for such a large family, and my father grew tired of struggling to support nine persons on such a small farm near Delight, Arkansas. He heard of greener pasture in Texas, head of those wide open spaces, big farms and in some way heard of a house and lot, a drey wagon and a team of horses in Copperas Cove, Texas in Coryell county. He bought them sight unseen, for the whole sum of two hundred and fifty dollars. So in the year 1898 he sent the oldest boy, Rush, who was nineteen years old to Copperas Cove, Texas, to pay for the new business and home. When Rush arrived there he found the whole deal to be worth only about fifty dollars. Nevertheless Dad stayed by his word. He loaded all his belongings, which were very limited into a covered wagon, and with his family and his abounding initiative we set out for TEXAS.
We had traveled only one day on our journey when Adell, my eleven year old sister became very ill. We happened to be near a friend's home, and what a true friend! Adell was put in a nice bed and a Doctor was called, but it was not in his power to save her life. She realized she was going to die and said "Daddy, now I won't get to go to Texas", Daddy assured her as best he could and said, "Darling, I promise I will take your little body with us to Texas," which he did. He sent mother and four children and the body of little Adell on to Copperas Cove by train while he and the oldest girl, Ola, would continue their sad disrupted journey with the wagons and teams. Rush had been notified by telegram of his sister's death and returned to Delight, Arkansas, supposing Adell would be buried there but found only emptiness and loneliness for she was buried in Texas as promised and he missed being there.
My mother's arrival in Copperas Cove was among complete strangers, but the people had received word of her coming and under what conditions and a large crowd met the train. The oldest of these four children was fifteen year old Ralph, and he was a real little man. He realized his responsibilities and helped my mother so much. I remember her telling me when the train would stop for a change Ralph would stand by the coffin until it was reloaded. A very sad event during trying conditions, but we all have trials to undergo.
When Daddy finally arrived in Copperas Cove, he was very disappointed with his purchase. He sold them for what he could get and moved to hill county near a little town called Filed Valley, and rented a black land farm. Before we could make a crop our house burned to the ground, everyone was working in the field so we lost everything. The neighbors proved to be the kind of people who "love their neighbors as themselves" and helped us with clothing and other things. The grocer there let us buy groceries on credit until harvest time.
The landlord soon had another house built, and we all worked hard. We made three good crops there and Dad thought he was about rich, he had all the horses and wagons paid for and he was completely out of debt and some money to spare. He desired to buy a farm of his own, so he pulled out again, this time to Jones County near Abilene, Teas, and bought a farm.
I was old enough to remember the move to Abilene, it too was in covered wagons. I had a little dog which I was very proud of and wanted to take her along. Daddy did not exactly like her and did not want to be bothered with her, but I begged so hard and with Mother helping me out a little she was allowed to go along. When the wagons would stop the little dog would jump onto the horse's hips, then onto the ground. There were lots of prairie dogs on the farm that we bought and my little dog almost ran herself to death after them the first day, but finally she learned some of the tricks and she would lay down behind the hole and wait for them to come out and then she would grab one. I thought I had a very smart dog.
We lived in Jones County seven years and they were seven happy, prosperous years, we made good crops each year. Rush, Ralph and Ola being grown all found companions and were married there. Ola become Mrs. W.B. Lewis.
Dad made a visit to the plains in 1906 and he loved those wide open spaces which he say. He was never satisfied until he and the two married boys bought some land there. It was located ten miles west of Dickens, Texas in Dickens County. We all moved to the great plains in the year of 1908, it was in the fall of the year. Rush and Ralph and their families settled on the small ranch and farm near Dickens, while my father's family moved on to Lockney, Texas. Charlie, Myrtle and I entered school in Lockney. We lived there four years, Myrtle met and married S.J. Dendy and moved to Turkey, Texas and Charlie entered the Texas University. Dad, mother and I moved to the ranch near Dickens in 1913 where we spent many years, some happy, some sad, dry years and wet ones. This being a prairie land with no wood to burn it was necessary sometimes to burn cow chips for fire wood in the winter. Finally we were able to buy coal although it had to be hauled, by wagon quite a distance. Spur was not established until November 1, 1909. Later we progressed to burning kerosene.
Our nearest railroad before this time was Plainview from whence the lumber for our first houses in Dickens County were freighted by wagons. Spur soon had a railroad and we felt we had a market real close to us. We hauled our cotton and grain and other commodities there. It was almost a day's journey to Spur in a wagon, therefore we usually would spend the night in a wagon yard, and return home the next day.
In 1915 Dad bought a brand new model "T" Ford Car. We were really getting up in class, so we thought. We would hunt antelope in the model "T". The antelope could run almost as fast as the car, but we would gradually gain on him until he man with the double barrel shotgun could get a shot at him. Many changes have taken place since we moved to the plains but I cannot say that people are any happier now than then. We learned to follow Paul's instructions to "In whatsoever state we were in to be content."
In 1915 a grocery store was built about four miles from our place and was named McAdoo, my mother passed away that year. My father passed away in 1924.
McAdoo is now a little town of about one hundred people. I, Bill McLaughlin am the only member of the E.B. McLaughlin's immediate family living in this little community. My sister Myrtle Dendy lives in Crosbyton, Texas.
G.W. McLaughlin.Source: History of Dickens County; Ranches and Rolling Plains, Fred Arrington, ©1971, page 301
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